The Silver Haven
by Kiwiruvian
Summary: Haven is a place of safety, a refuge. The Quel'dorei lost theirs with the fall of Silvermoon. Stromgardians lost theirs when their nation fell into political chaos and in hands of criminals. It was around that time when Templar begun their training, golden hue of paladins replaced by bright Silver. (Edits done!)
1. Haven Lost (Erannis)

**A.N. **Thanks to everyone that has read the story and for all the follows/ favs.

Hope you guys enjoy the story. Any constructive criticism is more than welcome.

- **_Important notice: (02/27) _**All the chapters of Threshe PoV have been removed. They will become their own fanfic, but she will appear in this one in later chapters and will be mentioned often. Also, some details of this fic will be edited to better fit WC2, WC3 and all of WoW's expansions. Really sorry for the inconvenience.

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**-Erannis- **(Chapter Edited)

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The toll of bells announced the arrival of the 18th hour. By that time, the sun was almost completely hidden behind the mountains The peaceful orangey hue casted long shadows from finished buildings and reconstructed towers. Stormwind had finally risen again from its ruins. Hope and fierceness glinted in each man and woman's eyes, even if they conveyed as well hints of fear and worry.

Despite the clear afternoon, there was an air of disbelief slowly turning to sorrow and anger as the shock wore off. The death of the queen had brought mourning and rage at equal amount to the king's heart and it reflected to the kingdom. Finally the stonemasons had been dealt with, in a way at the very least. Whispers of their settling in Westfall lands had reached guards and citizens alike and it seemed that from there they were amassing their forces. But that was of no real concern to the one hooded figure strolling on the streets, making her way to one of the buildings, property of the city's clergy.

A soft sigh passed through the woman's lips as she crossed the hall's threshold and finally lowered the hood. She had grown used to it in the last few weeks since the arrival of her entourage to the human city. She traced her hand through her long ebony hair and checked her ears, making sure the gold and ruby studs were not tangled in her locks. A glance about the room told her that the acolytes had already been through, lighting up the candles and leaving a meal of buns, wine and sweets for the secret visitors.

Yes, very few indeed knew of the four Quel'dorei ambassadors in the city. Their purpose, no more than to try to smooth over relations starting with clergy. Some in power knew of their presence and since the last revolts in the city they all had seen it necessary to keep their origins hidden, no need to add to the stress already boiling in the people's blood, with the presence of those most considered traitors. If anyone had seen her pass by, they'd have simply seen a neatly dressed woman in a red robe with golden trim, perhaps a little thin for human standards. Only in close inspection they would have noticed oddly bright blue eyes.

"I swear, these humans are testing my patience." The deep voice made her look over a shoulder to the man striding into the room. His robes matched her own in design but they where definitely cut to fit his bigger frame. He kept his long ashen hued hair pulled back in a style many called fox tails. His lips were set in an annoyed line to which she raised brows, waiting for hi to elaborate. "One of the initiates that priest introduced to us the other night, brought a 'friend'." And he made quotation marks with his fingers after plopping down on a chair by the table. "A magi none the less."

"And?" She asked, moving over to set her cowl and cape on the back of another chair. She turned to him then, setting light blue eyes on the elf as she folded her arms.

Kanea'ther scoffed and muttered, almost like a growl. " Testing a 'theory'. Had a mana orb, irradiating with energy, said it was given to him by some merchant, an orb infused with Wyrm energy from the lands of the north."

She blinked. "Is that even possible?"

He gave her a look, stormy blue eyes meeting her lighter ones. "It seems we have had more visitors than we were aware of. Yes, the orb is from a wyrm and that is not all. The idiot had infused it with arcane, I am surprised he did not have it explode in his face." He grunted and reached over to grab one of the sweets and chucked it into his mouth. As he bit into it he rolled shoulders and leaned back on the chair with eyes closed. "All that raw energy, all but a step away and in the hands of an inexpert human."

She could see his shudder and had to look away to the shelves lining the walls. Few things were spoken of and were treated with the outmost privacy. One most, if not all, wanted to avoid was how much arcane affected the Quel'dorei. "I see why you are in such a foul mood."

"I just need to feed." He replied, rocking on the back legs of the chair. "I am just glad we have not much longer to stay here. Another week or two and we all get to spend time with our families, a trip to the Sunwell's temple will be in order too."

She could not help the slight smirk at the end. Yes, she longed for a trip to the quiet halls of the Sunwell and the presence of its irradiating energy caressing her skin. She moved behind him, with hands to his shoulders she let her own energy, part of her aura, her light power, flow into him. Something to quench the thirst at the very least. Under her touch she felt tensed muscles relaxing and then a warm hand covered her own.

She opened eyes to meet his. "You have grown in power a great deal, Erannis. Thank you." She replied with a smile and a kiss to his head.

"You know I hate to see you like that, Kane. And I did promise Daluphni to take care of you on this trip."

A silent laugh rocked the man's shoulders and she let go with a last pat. " Oh, I bet she made you promise that."

She smiled and moved around him to take another chair by the table where she made herself busy placing some food in plates for both of them. She handed him one and a glass of wine. "Were Aldrinius and Ferranthorien with you then? I am sure they would not hesitate to play with that human's mind, I swear we have to keep an eye on them even if their reputations as casters are something to be impressed by."

"No. They had offered to help another human priest to translate some ancient scroll. It seems old Thalassian." He tapped his long fingers over the wooden table, expression becoming serious. "Which makes me wonder just how many other Quel'dorei scrolls or texts the humans do have in their libraries and wonder if they'd notice their absence."

She shook her head but laughed. "Thinking to rob our hosts? Great example you give."

He gave her a look. "If Aldrinius and Ferran discover it is Quel'dorei in origin, it belongs to us. Humans have no right to keep something that should have been kept In Silvermoon's library for safekeeping."

She could not argue his point, as both priest and priestess of the Sunwell it was their duty to care for their people and preserve their knowledge. The scroll, if truly Quel'dorei and with old secrets by all rights belonged to them as heirs of the ones who wrote it. A frown formed between her ebony brows and she played a finger over the rim of the glass."We can not act in haste about this. To simply take it could impact badly in the relations we have been trying to improve."

"Do you really think I would go through the main door and take it in front of the eyes of all the Stormwind clergy?" He snorted and bit into a bun, brows drawn in concentration. He swallowed and took a sip of the wine. "Let us wait for what Ferranthorien and Aldrinius have to say about this. We still do not know if it is a Quel'dorei scroll after all."

She nodded and both continued with their meal in silent companionship. Each immersed in their own thoughts.

The sounds of chattering had them both raising their heads to look towards the entrance of the hall, not so much at the intense tones but at recognizing language and voices.

"Well, they are back" Kanea'ther said as he set his glass down next to the empty plate.

Indeed, just as both of them stood to greet their friends, two male elves strode into the room laughing and talking loud enough to wake the whole city. Aldrinius was the taller one, a priest like herself and Kanea'ther and dressed like them. This time, she noticed, he had pulled back his long mane of blond hair. A pity, she found herself thinking, even if she had never outright told him so, she enjoyed the look of his unbound hair flowing to his mid-back. Ferranthorien, a battle mage the council had thought would be good for them to have as part of their entourage in case of danger, stepped into the room close behind. He was shorter, almost Erannis' height. Unlike the other three, he wore a purple and blue robe.

The two men had wide grins and that glint in their blue eyes both charming and contagious. Erannis found herself fighting a smile as she narrowed eyes at them."What have you done?"

Ferranthorien crossed arms with an expression of mock offense. "Us? Do anything? Why in the Sunwell's name would you think so, dear Erannis." She almost could not keep herself from rolling eyes.

"I would think it twice if it wasn't for the fact that you are about to split your face with those smirks." She looked then to Aldrinius with a brow raised, he had already moved to the table and was selecting food for himself. "Well?"

"Told you she would know," he replied in the middle of laughing and took a bite of a cinnamon bun before using it to point at Ferranthorien. "Just show them."

Kanea'ther frowned and looked from one to the other. "Show us what?"

Ferran made flourish, producing from his hand a scroll which had seen better days. "A little present for you, dalah' surfal." And he offered it to Erannis.

She blinked and took it, completely ignoring his flirt, and opened it slowly to see odd looking writing but most of it understandable. Some sort of thalassian dialect, an old one by the looks of the script, but not as old as to be considered darnassian.

Kanea'ther took one look at it and patted the other man on his back. "Well done you two!"

"How did you do this?" Erannis looked back up to Ferran who was beaming proudly.

"Old school tricks. Aldrinius distracted the priest with some sort of mind control spell or something of the like." The elf started to protest of it being a delicate and intricate spellwork, Ferran waved a hand. "Details. It took me just a moment to replicate the look of the scroll and swap them. " He tapped the item in Erannis' hand with a grin. "And there you go. It is Thalassian, by the look Kane gave the human priest earlier, we figured it was something you two would like to take back. I know I want to read more of it." He rubbed hands together eagerly.

"I… yes, this would certainly be appreciated by the other priests and studied, but the human priests will find out sooner or later and if you have not realized it. We –are- in their city, surrounded by their guards."

Kanea'ther frowned, rubbing the back of his neck as he went back to his seat. "That is true."

Aldrinius scoffed from across the room before biting into a pastry. "Ferran has taken care of it. The illusion will take at least two weeks to fade completely. By which time we should be well on our way through a portal to Silvermoon."

"Not a bad plan." Admitted Kanea'ther and picked up his glass of wine.

"Are you sure it will last that long?"

"Era, you offend me with your doubt." Ferran touched a hand to his chest as if truly hurt.

Erannis shook her head and rolled up the scroll. "Risky. We are only four and despite all of us being good with spellcasting and blades, they outnumber us."

Ferran grunted and took a seat by the table. "What do you suggest? To return it?"

She looked at him and sighed. "No. We will take it back and hope they do not find it is missing until we have started on our way to Silvermoon."

Ferran smirked and raised a newly filled glass of wine, handing Erannis her own. "Celebration then?"

Erannis took the glass reluctantly but joined the men as all finished their mean and drink, before heading to her quarters to hide the scroll in a satchel, sealing it with an arcane rune.

* * *

A couple days later she found herself able to relax, none of the human priests suspected about the false scroll in their possession nor that they were hiding anything. It was until the next afternoon that they were summoned into one of the conference halls in the keep that her worry returned tenfold.

They had agreed to not jump to conclusions and hear what the high cleric had to say despite protests from Ferranthoriel, the battle mage was all for a flashy display of his powers and to make a hasty escape. Still though, precautions where to be taken and their belongings had all been prepared in case their suspicions were confirmed. Erannis decided to keep the scroll close, if they had gone this far at least she would try to protect the reason of their possible exile from the human city. After tying up the protective pouch with the scroll towards the back of her belt, she used her cape to hid it from view.

The four of them entered the hall, Erannis was quick to notice the high cleric's expression. His wrinkled features were set in a worried grimace. Eyes grey with age glanced between them with concern. She frowned, having expected anger and guards to be waiting for them. Instead, the old priest and a younger man in leather vest porting a Stormwind insignia were the only ones in the candle lit room.

She traded glances with Kane, he also seemed confused and worry lines showed between his brows.

"You wanted to meet with us?" He asked, taking a step forward from the group with Erannis at his side.

"Yes, yes. This soldier here just arrived to the city. A courier sent from Loarderon." The man shifted in his boots when four sets of blue eyes of different hues set on him. Erannis had to keep herself from scoffing, so much for the brave soldiers of Stormwind.

"I see. So this has to something to do with us because...?" And she looked back to the high cleric.

The cleric sighed and nodded to the man to speak. He cleared his throat and rubbed his hand over short spiky hair. "Well… I bring news about Silvermoon." He said and glanced up at them. The elves tensed, the tone, his nervousness, this could not be good. "The once prince Arthas himself and his scourge army caved a path through the city… literally."

There was a pause, the proverbial pin would have dropped and be heard as and explosion.

"They would have never crossed the gates." She heard Ferranthoriel speak, or rather growl. "You have been misinformed."

_Yes, misinformed. There was no way he could have passed them. Guards were kept there day and night. The power of the Sunwell fueled the enchanted metal._

"King Varian is reading the sealed letter from a Loarderon commander as we speak. You may ask him or one of his officers."

From the corner of her eye she could see Ferran's hands cracking with barely contained energy. The soldier took a step back, unsure if he was about to be zapped by the battle mage or not. "You-Are-Wrong." Ferran growled and stomped out of the hall, without a doubt heading to ask about it to someone else. Someone that would out this foot soldier's lies.

"How bad is the damage?" Asked Aldrinius in a soft tone almost as numb as she was with the news.

_Damage? What damage? It was all a lie! Nothing could have touched the vibrant city she and her sister grew up in._

She wanted to shout and cry that he was lying, just like Ferran did, if not worse. And she would have if she could find her voice. Time right then seemed to pass with sluggish slowness, a dream, yes that is what it was. _Impossible, simple as that_. But she saw in the soft eyes of the cleric a deep regret to be the one witnessing such news.

She heard the soldier sigh. "The losses are extensive." He said. She could hear her own breathing, too fast. _Snap out of it, Erannis_.

"They carved their path through Eversong Woods and broke the gates." She closed her eyes then and flexed her hands, heart thudding in her ears.

"The Ranger-General Windrunner is nowhere to be found and she was the one leading the troops. Some presume she was taken by Arthas himself." She could feel cold sweat in her palms and spine. _No, no. Slow breaths. Why had Kane not say anything yet? He should have been the first to protest._

"They went through the western half and took everything in their path and more."_ Oh, for the Sun's light. His family, the children, Daluphni_. _My sister…_

"It is presumed that more than half the people of Silvermoon are death..." That was the last she heard, her vision swam with darkness even as she tried to open her eyes, a cold feeling along her spine was the last thing she was aware off.

A strangled cry, more felt than heard cutting through her heart. Her own? Kane's? The cries of the thousands of people slaughtered by the army of death? Perhaps all and none at the same time.


	2. Forest of Nightmares (Erannis)

A.N. Some works in Thalassian where the result of a little playing around from words and phrases from WoWpedia and other sources. (Kim'belore = Little sun)

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**-Erannis- **(Edited)

* * *

The next few days passed in a haze. Few words where shared and eyes avoided between the four elves, as if by meeting gazes the nightmare would become real. Each of them mourned the ones they thought gone, family and friends alike. Nevertheless, and even as small as it was, hope's flame still burned in their hearts. Who would have thought that the brightest of blue eyes could obtain such a dull glint? As it was, not even the battle mage on their entourage had bothered to crack a single joke or speak in a more elaborate manner than nods and shakes of head or the occasional grunt.

The mages of Stormwind had attempted to no avail to create a portal to Silvermoon, but no matter how hard they did try, they were unable to create the connection to the hall in the west side of the elven city, which only confirmed their fears. It had taken the mages a couple days to find another route and open a portal to the Thalassian pass, south of the Blackened woods. The lack of an 'anchor' on the other side made it a weak one though, despite of at least five mages holding it open, it only would allow the elves and their horses through.

"You have barely eaten, Erannis." She raised her eyes from the spot in the campfire she had been gazing at as if it obtained all the secrets of the world.

"I have eaten enough." She replied in a soft voice, wrapping herself tighter in the soft furs of the blanket around her shoulders. Even in the mid-summer evening she could not get rid of the chill. It had remained there since that day in which they received the terrible news. It had remained there, making her shiver and robbing her of breath every time she thought of her sister's smile and friends. After a minute hesitation she tried to offer a smile. "Thank you though, Aldrinius."

The man grunted, and pushed her plate closer to her. "One day to go, but you still need your strength. We do not know what we will find."

"I am not hungry." She replied, playing absentmindedly with the blanket's hem.

A warm hand on her knee made her look up. "Erannis, kim'belore, do not do this to yourself." She pressed lips together, taking slow breaths and fighting tears. "Please?" He tilted his head a little, trying to catch her eyes. She nodded once and took a bite of the offered bun. Berries and spice, she assumed, but tasted like ashes in her mouth as had every single bite she had taken in the week and a half they had been travelling. He gave her one of his smiles, almost making her smile in return. How could she resist? "That a girl." He commented, rubbing her back over the blanket and looked to the other side of the campfire.

Ferranthoriel had a serious expression, glaring almost, at some far away spot in the forest. Kanea'ther on the other hand, had a sort of vacant expression. He had spoken even less than Ferran in the last few days and Erannis could easily guess why. His wife and son had been in the city, their home, on the west wing of Silvermoon ,where most of the damage had occurred. She knew that he had abandoned almost all hope to find them alive. Had given up on the chance to once again look at the smiling face of her wife and have his child run to his open arms and crawl his way up to his shoulders in middle of giggles and excitement.

She had to look away, truth be told, she had almost given up as well. To have her older sister smile and hug her, simple nights where they would lay down next to each other to see the stars as they did since their youth. Erannis had grown used to her absence since Threshe became a guard, but they still had found the time to take some time for themselves and to keep their sisterly bond tight.

Oh, she remembered it well. The night Threshe had sworn to keep her safe. To protect her no matter what when Era was barely an adult and the one guard had brought news of both their parents' death. She had believed her and knew she could trust her older sibling.

"I am going to rest now." She stood, patting Aldrinious shoulder as she walked past him and into the tent. He simply nodded, knowing the pain she must be going through and being understanding of her need for solitude.

The night was a restless one. She did not close her eyes for longer than a few minutes and when she did nightmares and monsters threatened her thoughts and cold sweat formed on her spine. Eventually she did manage to get some sleep, mind too tired already to even form the shadows and screams from those fallen.

They stopped the horses as soon as they entered the Blackened Woods. Blue eyes narrowed and brows furrowed, unspoken it was that something was terribly wrong. The normal sounds of the forest, the occasional stirring of a bush as the critters scurried away to hide, the distant roar of a Lynx or even the rare Green Keeper poking its head from behind a tree to watch the travellers. All was gone and instead an eerie silence made the atmosphere heavy and threatening.

"It seems as if ghosts have taken over the woods." Ferran spoke in a whisper that seemed to carry away for miles. "Let's keep moving. We will gain nothing from becoming sitting targets." The other three simply nodded and motioned the horses forth. Even the beasts had caught on the potential danger ahead with too wide eyes and noses dilated in wariness.

Further up the main path, Ferran pulled the reigns of his horse to a stop, blocking the way of the others just as they approached one of the bigger towns in the woods.

"What is wrong?" Aldrinius asked, moving to his side. Erannis could see him suddenly tensing, clenching his jaw as he noticed what the battle mage had spotted before the othes. The charred remains of a small settlement; crates, arrows and spears broken with dark patches which she suspected to be dried blood. The town itself beyond seemed eerily quiet and smoke could be seen slowly trailing to the sky.

"Anar'alah belore…"

Their shock was short lived, soon Ferran turned his horse to face away from the main path. "Some might still be aroun-" He said but stopped abruptly, watching beyond and through the fog a dark path of burned ground and death.

All stared at what once had been part of the forest of dark trees and peaceful ambiance. They did not dare to get closer, from the distance it was clear the unholy source of it.

_They carved their way through the woods. _The soldier's words echoed in her mind.

"The faster we make our way out of this forsaken place the better. Ghouls are still crawling in that scarred place." Kanea'thor said from behind the group, almost making the others jump.

They looked at each other and shifted directions to go around the hills. "What if this path is not safer?" Erannis whispered, worry and fear clear in her eyes but keeping her voice firm.

"We have no other option, dear. Have you seen the amount of scourge in that… scar? We might be able to avoid them this way." She bit her lip, looking back over a shoulder as the horses kept trotting forth and deeper into the woods.

"The sanctum of the sun should be ahead of us." Aldrinius said. "Think it is wise to get close?"

Ferran'thoriel frowned. "No, let us avoid everything until we reach Silvermoon."

The eerie silence continued, heavier with each passing moment, although here and there rustling of leaves could be heard. _Just the wind. _She kept repeating herself but something deep in her chest, a sense of dread building up told her it could be more, something worse.

They caught glimpses of both the Sanctum of the Sun and the Farstrider Enclave. By sight alone of broken weapons and scattered bones, unspoken was the agreement that nothing could be done. She had to look away, trying to sooth her consciousness at leaving the rests of brethren in such a careless way. There will be a time to give those that perished a proper burial. For now, the goal was to not become one of them.

The once vibrant Suncrown village was yet another stab to their hearts and an unavoidable one since they had to come very close to cross the boundary to Eversong Woods.

"I grew up here." Was the whispered comment from the battle mage. "Belore adore. What has happened…"

"What is that?" Erannis pointed to the entrance of one of the buildings, the veil covering it was torn in the middle and something under it moved as if struggling to crawl deeper into the safety of the house.

"A wounded!" Aldranius called, already slipping from the horse and running help the man up despite the protests from the others. As he reached the entrance all three held their breath. Erannis clutched the reigns of her horse and was about to hop off but Ferran closed a hand around her wrist.

It was with that same sense of dread from earlier that she watched her old friend. Hours might have passed for all she remembered, from the time he dismounted to the time he reached the town. Aldrinius pulled off the cloth, disarming smile already on his lips to calm the poor elf trapped with a possible fracture which had forced him to crawl.

From hours to the blink of an eye. One second the tall blond elf was crouched, on the next his compassionate expression was wiped away and colour drained as he looked up. Eyes wide, lips parting in horror to whatever laid behind the curtains. No sound, he was not even able to scream when a spear like limb shoot forth, coming on a clean strike from his forehead to the back. The single claw curled behind and dragged the body into the darkness.

"Noooo!" Came the raw scream from Erannis. Slapping Ferran's hand away she hopped off the horse and started to run to her friend. A strong arm hooked around her waist and pulled her back. Tears streaming down her cheeks, she tried to squirm away from the grasp, barely hearing the fierce whispered words to her ear.

"Enough Erannis, there is nothing we can do now. More are coming. Stop." He grunted with effort but held on. "They have been hidding in the treetops. Belore, I can see they have trapped others in webs. How could we miss it before? Ferran! We have to move, now! These are scourged spiders or something worse." To her, Kanea'thor whispered again urgently after pulling her onto his horse. She did not resist this time, giving up on the slight chance to being able to rescue Aldrinius alive. "Era, please, Era. I need you to hold tightly. We must go."

She held on as hard as she could with arms wrapped around Kane's waist. Aldrinius face and his expression still in her mind, his sweet smile she would never get to see again. There was nothing to be done. Aldranius' need to help others, which had been his drive to become a priest of the Sunwell in the first place, had driven him to his end. She buried her face in Kane's back, holding on tightly as both him and Ferran forced the horses at full speed and far away from that village of nightmares.

The Eversong Woods looked almost as desolated as the woods they had just left, but they carried on, not even stopping when the horses started huffing in strain, they had to make it to safety as soon as possible.


	3. Mountain view (Erannis)

In any other occasion, she would have found peace while riding her stallion. Yes, one of the few Quel'dorei that seemed to enjoy the company of the human-bred beasts rather than hawkstriders and their headache inducing screeches. This time though, the rhythmic gallop of the stallion paired with the occasional snort as it traveled across the forest did little to calm her nerves. In the last few weeks the threat of scourge had been minimized. But day after day she had grown warier of her people's thirst for revenge. Hate, fear and bitterness had set deep in their souls and did not pair well with the general restlessness.

Only now did the high elves realize how bad their attachment to the energy from the Sunwell had been. Like junkies without their fix, that's how she had seen many behave, a sad sight indeed. It was then that the prince had come up with a pseudo solution to spare his people's suffering: The outlands, Fel energy to replace the Sunwell.

She had been surprised, shocked, to see almost all of her brethren siding with what she considered a stupid idea. Her cousin, the only other surviving member of the Felo'lithian house, her friends, all of them seemed blinded with need and hatred. She would have nothing to do with the Fel taint, there might be other solutions, there had to be something else that could be done…

Kanea'ther had glared at her when she spoke her concerns. His eyes still showing redness from tears. Learning of the death of his wife had changed him. Despite his younger child surviving, he was allowing sorrow to take the best of him. She remembered clearly his words and they still wounded her. Even the young boy cringed when Kane shouted at her, clutching his father's robes with too wide eyes. She felt sorry for the boy and even more for her friend, but right then it was obvious her beloved home did not exist anymore, the scourge had truly destroyed it and now something she did not recognize was all that remained.

The death of her sister had been as much of a blow to her heart as Kanea'ther's lost wife had been for him. Her sister would have been deeply disappointed if she had allowed herself to be consumed by her mourning and Erannis knew it. Her cousin, Zaliethnis would not be reasoned with either. She saw herself standing alone against most of her people. 'Sin'dorei' they now called themselves. She refused. No, she was Quel'dorei.

With a heavy heart she had to accept it, there was no place for her in Silvermoon anymore. Where would she go? The settlements to the south where an option, unless they were siding with the 'Sin'dorei' and Kael'thas views. She could seek refuge in Dalaran even if it meant having to go through Ghostlands and the Eastern lands which last she knew was swarming with scourge.

She had one friend among the human. One that had helped evacuate her family from the lower forest during the second war. The same man that had introduced her to the concept of paladins, an armored priest more or less and whom had even taken the time to train her despite the disapproval of her cousin and sister. Yes, she was sure Aevaresto would not turn her down and ever more sure that he would be one of the men standing against Arthas and his scourge.

To escape the city proved more difficult than she had imagined; Sentries kept close watch in case a new wave of scourge aimed for the city. She knew that she'd be judged as a traitor if she was captured and it was just a lucky strike that she managed to slip past the guards.

That was how she found herself cruising through the Eversong woods with what little she had been able to carry. Her father's sword emblazoned with a phoenix and runes along the blade, a pouch of gold coins and the saddle's bags filled with her belongings that she simply could not leave behind and that would fit or otherwise not become a burden to the stallion that she was already pushing to its limit with little rest other than the absolutely necessary.

She was on high alert all the way across the Ghostlands, rightfully nicknamed so, only stopping once to allow the stallion to drink before continuing south. Every shadow, every whisper of the leaves and bushes, all of it she fought to ignore. Single thought in mind, she had to make it through unnoticed by both elves and the remaining scourge.

When she reached the edge of the Ghostlands, a pressure in her chest she had not been aware of until then, loosened. She released a relieved breath and allowed the stallion to go back to an easy trot. He shook its head and snorted, glad for the momentary rest.

"Sorry." She whispered, rubbing the side of its neck as she kept light blue gaze about. Not too far away ahead was the gate that separated Queldorei territory from the Lordaeron one. The scourge had broken through this gate and straight through to Silvermoon's heart. The Quel'lithien lodge, she knew, lay in almost ruins at the other side. A frustrated sigh escaped her lips; to take another path would be equally risky or worse than this one. Somehow she had to reach the Hinterlands. A slight frown appeared between dark brows, unless she went to the western lands first, but the only path was through the eastern lands… She glanced up to the mountains. "Unless I go around it." She whispered to heself. She had heard of the existence of some paths that would allow people to reach the western lands from Queldorei territory. One very few took due to the danger of narrow paths but that still proved time saving, and perhaps even safer in her current situation.

Her boots made a soft thud as she dismounted. Patting the horse's head and making soothing sounds, she took a cloth from one of the saddle bags and wrapped it around its head, to cover its eyes. The stallion neighed in protest and she had to catch the reigns and trace fingers over his mane. "Shh, shh. It will be fine, trust me. Nothing will happen." She helped the beast relax, caressing soothingly until it shook its head again, nostrils no longer flared in fear. "There we go." She gave him a last pat and turned, pulling on the reigns to guide the stallion as she looked for a path up the mountains surrounding the Eastern lands.

The more they walked, the more she was convinced that the blindfold had been the best of ideas. Even she had to look away from the edge and the rather nasty drop, shivering at the height and praying to the Sun not to lose her footing.

Beyond mountains and forest below, the sinking sun drew her gaze while it tinted the sky orange. She often thought such a sight as beautiful. This night though, she wondered if the blending of colors had been as breath-taking or if it had been redder when her people's blood colored the earth and darkened their souls.

Night was coming and she was yet to find a wide enough place to make a decent camp. She was tired, muscles sore and almost screaming in pain. Deep in her core, she felt power stir, something she had found hard to ignore every passing day since she had been in Stormwind. Oh how she craved the feel of the Sunwell's energy to caress her skin. She shuddered with the memory. Foot in front of the other, to gain distance from the High elf city and from the potential scourge attack, those where matters that had priority. Nevertheless, hands flexed and she rubbed her face before letting fingers trace through dark locks. The hunger was rising and she felt it; both the physical one, which she'd attend to with some of the scarce supplies she had been able to gather before her escape, and the other one urging her for arcane.

She tried to find yet another distraction to keep her mind away from the second hunger as she bit into a fruit. Glancing about, noticing the shapes of the mountains and looking back over a shoulder to guess how much she had advanced. At a guess, she believed to be somewhere close to the edge of the once Lordearon city of Stratholme -A chill ran up her spine and eyes widened- city which… was now a scourge nest. How had she forgotten about it? She cursed under her breath and stopped herself and the stallion, placing a hand on its nose to calm him down, torn now between continuing forth and going back. She looked over her shoulder again and then ahead, it was dangerous to continue, she knew it, but she had been walking for hours and at best, he'd guess a mere couple hours would all to be between her and relative safety.

Slowly she kept going forth and stopped again after some minutes when she caught a faint noise. She gulped in nervousness and even with more caution continued. The sounds grew and became easier to pick up, skittering, growls and moans of the haunted beasts and reanimated corpses that formed the scourge army.

The mountains formed an almost barrier between her and the 'things'. She kept walking, glancing up to the mountain peaks until she found one low enough to climb on. After setting the stallion to wait below, she raised herself to look to the other side. An opening between two rocks allowed her a small window towards the ruckus below.

She was almost nauseated by the sight. Rotten carcasses were scattered about the ground, and as it was not of any concern, robbed figures and ghouls passed by. A humongous mass of a stitched creature dragged its feet as it was led by a man by chain. Goo and other things, she was glad not being able to name, dripping in between the harshly sewed together flesh. Geists crawled up and down buildings, single eyes unfocused. She even saw some overly pale riders, blue eyes even brighter than her own brethren. She leaned in closer, frown forming, trying to catch a better angle to see these strange beings.

Human, she thought at first, perhaps even halflings. She had to make a double take then, when an orc with equally glowing eyes appeared dragging something. An orc with arcane-blue eyes? Impossible… wasn't it? Then again the hue of blue eyes seemed off. She looked to the thing he was dragging by a limb, a corpse perhaps or a ghoul. The Orc stopped by a shallow crater -she had to push higher on tiptoes to see- His skin looked sickly green; she noticed just as he took the thing and hauled it over his head as if it didn't weight anything. The thing landed with a heavy thud in the middle of an expectant group of ghouls.

It shrieked high and painfully when the ghouls jumped on it and started tearing it apart. Erannis gasped, wide eyed as she scrambled away from the horrendous sight. Pressing her back to the rock and eyes closed as if that would somehow help erase the image from her mind. She felt the bitter taste of nausea in her mouth and dropped to her knees as whatever little she had eaten tried to leave her body.

Those 'things' where the ones that killed her people, those things no better than animals had destroyed her homeland and the once prince of Lordearon led them. The thing… a person, tortured to death by ghouls tearing it apart. These creatures were cruel beyond believe. Never had she seen something like it, not even prisoners should to be treated in such an inhuman way. This had to come to an end; these things of unnatural glowing blue eyes had to be stopped. She had to do something to help get rid of this horrendous taint, but what? She was but one and they were hundreds if not more down in that invaded city.

When her stomach had stopped trying to force itself inside out, she pushed herself up. Determination in gaze and expression. She had to make it to safety and when time came -She thought as she took once again the reigns of her stallion- she would avenge those these monsters had killed, including her sister and Kanea'ther's wife and older sons.


	4. Old Acquaintance (Erannis)

**-Erannis PoV-**

* * *

"Belore, what was I thinking..." She muttered to herself and raised a hand to brush back ebony hair, sighing. The long road had taken its toll on her. She was tired and sore. It had been four days since she had left Silvermoon- her supplies were running as low as her motivation. At least, she was glad to have been able to avoid the bigger towns and main roads, unsure as to what to expect from humans these days. Much worse, other elves, from whom she had made sure not to cross paths at all.

Earlier that day she had hesitated by the path that would have taken her to Quel'danil Lodge. Part of her longed to be with her people, but in the chance these elves were siding with the ones in Silvermoon… No, she could not risk it. With a heavy heart, she turned away and kept going down the path to the Highlands.

Hours had passed and the weather had started to turn for the worse. Clouds gathered and covered the late afternoon's light. She grimaced. If the wind was any indicator, rain would not be too far away now. She had to find a place to spend the night.

She caressed her stallion's neck, an apologetic gesture for having pushed him so much in the last few days. The beast snorted and twiched its ears in acknowledgement. It was then that the hunger came with vengeance. The one that reminded her how long it had been since she fed her need of arcane. It had her gripping the reigns and bending her head slightly. Black hair framed her face as she swallowed hard and shuddered. _Deep breaths, slow, deep breaths._ That was her mantra, over and over until something cold and wet woke her from her momentary daze. She'd have to take care of this somehow, this hunger that attacked her in waves when she least expected it. She knew to be running the risk of it taking away her concentration when she needed it the most, a risk she could not take. Another drop of rain landed on her neck and she blinked.

The horse had kept going, ignorant of its rider's struggle to keep her need under control. Erannis blinked up to the sky. _How...?_ It must have taken her at least a couple hours to get ahold of herself...The afternoon sky was now completely dark. She swore under her breath, trying to locate amidst the darkness a place to make camp. No luck, the trees were too dense, too close to each other, providing perhaps a good enough shelter against the rain but definitely not a good place to rest. A clearing, that's what she needed. Some place with enough space for at the very least to make a fire.

She was sure that sooner or later she might regret her decision, but still, she continued, sticking to an easy pace. Last thing she needed now was for the horse to step wrong and get injured. She shook her head at herself, but kept focused in the forest, trying to make out the shadowy shapes in case danger or a suitable resting place appeared.

The stallion snorted, raising its head and shifting its ears forward. She raised her eyebrows and tried to see what had caught her horse's attention. She had to squint to notice the light coming from between the trees, deep in the forest. Someone must have set a camp. She pulled on the reigns, making soft soothing sounds so the stallion remained quiet.

Her mind raced. What could it be? Soldiers, traders, bandits… scourge?

No, she shook her head. Scourge wouldn't have a reason to stop in the middle of a forest to rest. Heck, she wasn't even sure if their handlers were 'normal' enough to need it as any other living being would. Bandits? the last thing she needed was to get robbed in an isolated place like this, and she had items in her saddlebags that… she would never forgive herself if she lost: The last reminders of her family and home. Traders or soldiers she might be able to get to an agreement with, perhaps even exchange a few gold coins for more supplies.

She sighed and silently eased herself off the stallion, pulling him away from the road and to a nearby tree. She petted his nose and pressed her forehead to his, whispering in soft thalassian. "Please don't make a sound, be calm," the beast nudged her, which she took as a promise. After giving him a last pat, she turned away and into the forest, blade in hand, she followed the light of the campfire.

The crunch of leaves and twigs under her boots was sounded deafening to her. She could only hope for the soldiers to be too distracted in their own affairs to notice it right away. Yes, soldiers. Bandits, as far as she knew, did not bother wearing plated armor, nor she believed they would have tents with a crest of sorts painted on. She hid behind a bush and observed them as they moved around, getting ready to rest for the night.

Four tents, three humans. She frowned, that didn't add up. Perhaps the fourth tent was supposed to be for supplies? Seemed a waste of effort and space. She glanced back to the symbol on the tents. A closed fist in silver and a light blue background. The symbol was familiar, a holy order she had heard of before, Silver hand. That was a welcome sight. What seemed odd though, was a second symbol that depicted four black crystals around a red one, with a white background in a rhombus shape with thin golden trim

She hesitated, a human holy order. The other symbol, though was what kept her from approaching. _Would they be something akin to the Scarlets she had learned to be wary off?_ Yes, perhaps it was a better idea to simply gain as much distance as she could from them. She knew most humans would still see her, and her race in general, as traitors and more than likely would not hesitate to kill her or worse. She shuddered at the thought. Caution would keep her safe.

A shadow loomed over her, but she was distracted, her attention on the camp and not to her surroundings. The man clamped a hand over her mouth, a strong grip pressed her against an armored chest, pining one of her arms too and making her drop her blade. The owner of the fourth tent. She panicked. Her mind went wild at being captured. She kicked and trashed, even tried punching the man as hard as she could, almost forgetting that she had other ways to protect herself.

The light could purge and also burn. Her eyes glowed with a gold hue akin to that of sunlight. She reached back with her free hand and tried to smite the man with a beam of power. The man grunted a curse and loosened his grip, which she squirmed out of to attempt to grab the blade. He was faster though, kicking the blade into the bushes as he grasped one of her arms, bending it behind her back and pushing her against a tree. She cried out, but the sound was soon muffled by his hand once again over her mouth. He tightened his hold, pulling her back against him, the sharp pain on her shoulder made her stop her struggling. He leaned in, smooth cheek brushing her ear, "Quel'dorei, fight is pointless. I mean you no harm" She tried to scoff. _Right…_

"I'm going to remove my hand. Do not run. Do not scream. We don't know what lies in the forest and what we could attract. Understood?" She remained still for a moment, but nodded at the end. "Good." Slowly he removed his hand and let her go. She took a breath and made a show of rubbing her shoulder as she turned, making sure he did not notice when she slipped her other hand into a small pouch at her belt.

"Now. Why were you spy—ugh." He growled under his breath, bringing hands up to try clean his eyes from the Mana powder Erannis had thrown at him. With tears streaming down his cheeks he saw her slipping between the trees and into the darkness. He gave chase and as soon as an opportunity presented itself he leaped. Single strike in a pressure point, she was too focused on running to have done anything about it…

* * *

She stirred and groaned. The back of her head hurt as did her wrists and shoulder. She blinked then, eyes widening. Why were her wrists hurting? She swore in thalassian at a sudden realization and tried to tug on her wrists to no avail. They were tied behind her back.

A shadow appeared by one of the woolen walls. It moved around the tent and then one of the flaps was pushed aside. She rolled over and scrambled as far away as the small place allowed. She was trapped, her eyes filled with fear "Lady Felo'lithian." He offered as a greeting. She froze in place, the man from last night.… and then she blinked. _He knew her name?!_

The man stood by the entrance of the tent. He must have dragged her there while unconscious, and was without a doubt the one that bound her wrists too. He was big, at least a head taller than her with pale tan hair that barely touched his shoulders and light grey eyes. She narrowed her own pale-blue ones. He crossed his arms, making the heavy plate he wore groan with the movement, and met her glare with amusement.

"We depart shortly," he started, crouching in front of her. "Turn around, I will untie y-"

"How do you know me?"

He smirked and reached to her, not stopping even when she tried to jerk away from his touch. He lightly tapped the medallion around her neck "This. Unless you stole it, the Felo'lithian crest." And then his amused grey eyes caught hers, turning serious in a beat. "Why were you spying on us?" She ignored him, despite his stern tone and narrowed eyes.

"How do you know of the noble houses?"

He sighed. "I spend some time in the elven forests. Helped many relocate. You know, orcs, their firebreathing drakes and all that mess." She pursed her lips, she remembered." My troop helped couple noble houses, yours, among them," He tilted his head then, pausing for a moment. His gentle eyes seemed to study her, as if he were memorizing her features. It made her uncomfortable to say the least. "You are Erannis." A statement, rather than a question. She simply gritted her teeth- she was not about to confirm that. "We have met."

She blinked and looked at the man again, suspicion clear in blue eyes. "I... do not remember you."

He shrugged and reached over to untie her. "I was one of many soldiers under your... what would Officer Zaliethnis be? Cousin, aunt?"

"Cousin," she replied, still shocked and perhaps even ashamed at not remembering him completely. "What is your name?"

He dropped the rope and gave her a slight smile. "Thaen." He explained that after she attacked him last night and tried to run away, this was the only way he could ensure her safety. The forest was too dangerous, since stray scourge were said to still roam in the shadows. To her surprise he had even brought her stallion who was now pasting peacefully next to the other four horses.

Later that morning she found herself with company for the first time in almost a week, was a nice change. Although she would have enjoyed it more if the other three men had stopped observing her so closely or if Thaen would have said something to break the awkward silence. She had told them her reasons for being travelling alone, while all Azeroth was in the middle of chaos and war. They were stunned to say the least.

Thaen placed his plate down and finally turned to her. "Where will you go now?" The nice warm meal lost its appeal and she picked at it with the spoon, jaw clenched and eyes lowered. After a moment she looked at him almost shyly.

_Get a grip on yourself, Erannis. _She scolded herself and cleared her throat softly. "Dalaran, I might offer my services to the Kirim Tor." She paused and tried not to grimace. "Or Stormwind. I need to find someone... I am not sure where to look, but those two places are my safest bets"

The corner of his brow lifted, but one of the other men replied before him, the blond one that seemed the younger of the group. "Bad idea, miss. Dalaran is but reconstructing itself." She blinked, the man continued, as he served himself another spoonful of oatmeal. "Arthas made a beeline for the city right after Silvermoon. The people are still... shaken about it. Visitors are more likely to receive a face-full of arcane blast first and allowed to introduce themselves second. We were just returning from there." _Damn it. There went her great plan and Stormwind was at the very least week and a half away on horseback. _He waved a finger about. "All of us are travelling south, by Orders of Fordring."The man continued despite the eyeroll Thaen sent his way at his over sharing. Not that it mattered, she was not paying much attention to his words anymore. "We will join the Argent Dawn. Both organizations will fight the scourge toge-"

She blinked and snapped her eyes up. "Let me go with you." Their expressions varied from surprise to incredulity, but it was to the other two men, that she turned to. They were looking at her with serious eyes as if weighting her potential. "I am a healer. I know swordfight" _Not that it had done much good against Thaen last night_, she thought to herself. "And I have traveled a lot as an ambassador from Silvermoon. I can help, I -want- to help."

The older man crossed his arms. "No." She looked at him, he was obviously the one with higher rank among them and the most experienced. His white hair and beard where both neatly trimmed and he just had an air of authority about himself . She clenched her teeth and looked to Thaen, expecting him to say no as well. Instead, he simply leaned back and looked at her.

A minute passed and he looked back to the old paladin. "I trust her, let her come with us."

"Do you know the risks? She will be your responsibility. If something happens, I needn't tell you my prediction"

"A healer, none of us are that great at it. And if my memory serves me right, she was once trained by Aevaresto himself. You know how hard it was for that man to take anyone in. He must'a seen something in her worth developing."

The older man sighed and shook his head slowly. "Fine, in the memory of our comrade. So be it." He stood and went back to his tent. A minute passed, none of them moved. The paladin that had been silent until then, scratched his head and grunted as he stood. "Well, time to get back on the road." That seemed to snap the younger one and he jumped to his feet, blond ponytail bouncing and he flashed her a grin before turning away with the other man. "Well. Welcome aboard, miss Felo'lithian." She blinked but her mind was with the older paladin's words. _In the memory of our comrade..._

Thaen stood and stomped on the burning coals to extinguish the flames some before dumping water on them. She stood as well, "Please tell me that is not the same Aevaresto..."

He sighed, still looking down to the smoking coals. "Yes. The same Lord Aevaresto." He looked up then, sadness clear in his eyes. "You knew him, he would follow Turalyon to the grave and back. He went through the damned portal and has not been seen ever since, much like everyone else."

She cursed in thalassian. Turned away from Thaen and started pacing. "How could that be possible and no one has bothered to reopen the portal? All of them could still be alive out there."

Thaen picked up bits and pieces of the temporary camp, making sure everything was packed away as he replied. "Too dangerous. The world beyond threatened ours. The instability would have destroyed Azeroth."

"But-"

He stopped in front of her, raised hands to her shoulders and searched her gaze. "Erannis, it was his choice. He knew the risks and still chose to take them. He was a hero and died as o-"

She frowned. "We do not know if he is dead yet or not."

Thaen pursed lips and almost awkwardly lowered his hands from her shoulders. "The portal will never be reopened. There is a keep being constructed in the Blasted Lands to ensure that it doesn't happen. Even if he is alive with the others..." He flexed his fingers, yearning to offer what little comfort he was able to, to erase that sadness that lingered on the elf's expression, but knew it was perhaps not proper in his position. "I'm sorry lady Felo'lithian."

She gave a weak nod and cleared her throat. "I... I will wait by the horses unless you want me to help..." Thaen waved her offer off. "I am nearly done. We should begin our journey in less than an hour."

Erannis stopped by her stallion, fingers tracing and caressing his head as she remembered her friend and mentor. In her solitude, she allowed a single tear to roll down her cheek in his memory and felt sad even for her cousin, whom she was sure would take the news even worse. As soon as she heard the steps of the men approaching, she wiped away any traces of her sorrow. She had spend enough time mourning, _when will this end?_


End file.
